Linguistic biases and the establishment of conceptual hierarchies: Evidence from preschool children* 1 (original) (raw)

This research investigates the role of linguistic biases in young children's establishment of conceptual hierarchies, specifically exploring a predisposition toward interpreting nouns as indicative of taxonomic relations. Through various experiments, it demonstrates that these biases play a crucial role in guiding early conceptual organization, allowing children to classify and differentiate among referents effectively. The findings suggest that understanding the interplay between language and concepts could provide significant insights into cognitive development.